Interactive input systems that allow users to inject input (e.g., digital ink, mouse events etc.) into an application program using an active pointer (e.g., a pointer that emits light, sound, or other signal), a passive pointer (e.g., a finger, cylinder or other suitable object) or other suitable input devices such as for example, a mouse, or trackball, are known. These interactive input systems include but are not limited to: touch systems comprising touch panels employing analog resistive or machine vision technology to register pointer input such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,448,263; 6,141,000; 6,337,681; 6,747,636; 6,803,906; 7,232,986; 7,236,162; and 7,274,356 assigned to SMART Technologies ULC of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, assignee of the subject application, the relevant portions of the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference; touch systems comprising touch panels employing electromagnetic, capacitive, acoustic or other technologies to register pointer input; laptop and tablet personal computers (PCs); smartphones; personal digital assistants (PDAs) and other handheld devices; and other similar devices.
Conferencing and other event management systems, such as Microsoft® Live Meeting, Citrix® GoToMeeting®, SMART Bridgit™, and the like are also known. These systems allow participants at different geographical locations to participate in a collaborative session using computing devices and share content, such as screen images, files documents, pages etc. For example, the SMART Bridgit™ version 4.2 conferencing system offered by SMART Technologies ULC comprises one or more servers and clients, and provides plug-ins for event scheduling programs, such as Microsoft Exchange® or Microsoft Outlook®. An event may be scheduled in Microsoft Outlook® via a SMART Bridgit™ plug-in on a participant's computing device, by assigning a name, a start time and an end time to the event. Using a SMART Bridgit™ client program, a user may create an event session on the SMART Bridgit™ server to start an ad-hoc event. Other participants may join the event session using the SMART Bridgit™ client program running on their computing devices by entering the event name and any required password. In addition to sharing content, participants can annotate shared screen images by injecting digital ink thereon using a computer mouse, a touch screen, or an interactive board.
While existing conferencing and event management systems are satisfactory, advances to improve the user experience are typically sought. For example, improvements to reduce the time required to set up a meeting, including the time for local participants to reach the meeting room or designated meeting place, the time for all local and remote participants to log into the meeting session and the time for meeting participants to transfer files amongst themselves, are desired.
It is therefore an object to provide a novel system and method for displaying content on an interactive display surface and a novel interactive board.